Kurisu blinked, leaning in to look Hachiman directly in the face—a rare gesture of genuine curiosity.
"...What?" he asked.
"Nothing. I was just thinking that you actually say something sensible every once in a while."
"Hey, Asuna. Cut Kurisu's portion of dinner in half."
"W-Wait, I was kidding! I'm sorry!"
"Hehe," Asuna giggled. "Don't worry, there's plenty of seconds, so eat up."
"Thank you."
The three of them shared a meal, the conversation flowing easily. After they had finished and taken turns with the bath, Hachiman retreated to his room, only for Asuna to come knocking.
"Hachiman-kun, Kurisu said she wanted to talk to the three of us."
"Hm? Is it something serious?"
"No, I think she just wants to hear about Kayaba-san."
"Ah. I guess one genius is naturally curious about another."
"Probably."
Asuna led him into her room.
"Alright, I'm here," Hachiman said.
"Ah, Hachiman. Sorry to drag you in here," Kurisu said.
"Don't sweat it." Hachiman sat cross-legged by the small table. "So, what do you want to know?"
"Anything, really."
"Anything, huh..."
"Even things that seem completely unrelated might be useful as a reference," Kurisu explained. "Don't worry too much about the details."
"I see. Asuna, what do you think?"
"Hmm... My interactions with Kayaba-san were strictly as Commander and Vice-Commander, so I don't have much personal insight."
"Commander? Vice-Commander?" Kurisu repeated.
"Oh, right," Asuna explained. "The team fighting on the front lines of SAO—the Knights of the Blood. Kayaba-san was the Commander, I was the Vice-Commander, and Hachiman-kun was the Strategist."
"Wait, Akihiko Kayaba was the Commander?!"
"Yeah," Hachiman added. "That's how we managed to get out earlier than scheduled."
"I see... So rather than watching from the outside, he chose to observe from within, even with the risk to his own life."
"Seriously, your intuition is so sharp it's scary," Hachiman muttered.
Asuna tried to think of an interesting anecdote, but came up short. "Thinking back... the Commander was actually a pretty boring person."
"Yeah, he was a total straight-edge," Hachiman agreed.
"Is that so?" Kurisu asked.
"Yeah. It was like... he was hyper-conscious of playing the 'role' of the Commander."
"I see. That makes sense."
"So honestly, there aren't many 'fun' stories. I could talk about the raids, but that's just a bunch of stories about us suffering."
Kurisu looked at him intently. "Then, can I ask about when you spoke to him after the game was cleared?"
"Sure, that's fine. But keep it under wraps."
"Of course. It would be a disaster if the world found out his consciousness might still be alive."
Kurisu leaned in, hanging on Hachiman's every word.
"You met Yui the other day, right?" Hachiman began. "Back in ALO, when we were trying to save Asuna and infiltrated the enemy stronghold, Yui suddenly said she felt the presence of a 'Grand Master.'"
"Wait, wait. I saw the news, but... ALO? Not SAO? Are you talking about the incident with the 'Remaining One Hundred'?"
"Yeah, that's the one. At the time, it was just fragmented audio. He said his consciousness hadn't fully integrated yet."
Hachiman paused to take a breath.
"Go on," Kurisu urged.
"Right. So, after everything in the game was over, Akihiko's consciousness appeared at a VR console... or was it a management hub? I don't know the technical term, but it was like a VR laboratory he used to manage the servers. His consciousness descended into an avatar. He spoke perfectly normally, just like the old days. That's when he entrusted me with The Seed and told me to spread it to the world for free. That's the gist of it."
"Hold on, hold on," Kurisu said, rubbing her temples. "That's a lot of incredible facts to process. I need a second to organize this."
Leaving Kurisu to her mumbling, Hachiman started absentmindedly playing with Asuna's hair. With surprising dexterity, he began changing her hairstyle over and over. Asuna, finding it amusing, started taking pictures of the results.
"Hey, why don't you try Kurisu's hair?" Asuna whispered. "I bet she won't even notice right now."
"Hmm. Maybe. Let's try a braid."
Hachiman began quietly fiddling with Kurisu's hair. True to form, her intense concentration acted as a shield, and she remained completely oblivious. By the time he had finished a total overhaul of her style, her mind finally returned to the present.
"It's incredible," Kurisu breathed. "In essence, Akihiko Kayaba achieved a form of digital immortality using a completely different approach than mine."
"'Immortality,' huh? Though as information moves around, it might get worn down and lost," Hachiman noted.
"If there were a sufficiently closed environment to act as a vessel, it might be possible to fully resurrect him," Kurisu mused.
"Maybe. But what do you think his state was back then? Is it similar to your Amadeus?"
Kurisu turned the question over in her mind, her expression turning serious.
"I wonder. I don't think he's transformed into something that digital yet, but it's a subject of endless fascination."
"Honestly, it's a mystery how he even maintains a sense of self," Hachiman said.
"True. Unlike Amadeus, he doesn't seem to have AI support. The only thing I can say for sure is that the human brain still holds so many possibilities."
Hachiman and Asuna watched her, struck by the sudden radiance of her scientific passion.
"Does this help your research?"
"Yes. One day, I'll solve this mystery. I wonder where he is right now?"
"Who knows. Could be right next to us, or tucked away in a server in some far-off country."
"I'd love to find him somehow."
"Good luck with that," Hachiman said.
"Yeah. I've got my second wind."
"Alright then—say cheese!" Asuna chirped.
"Eh?"
Kurisu instinctively struck a pose, and Asuna snapped the photo.
"What was that for?"
"Take a look for yourself."
Asuna showed her the screen. Kurisu's eyes went wide.
"What in the—?!"
"...You know, you talk funny when you're surprised," Hachiman remarked.
"W-What is this? When did this happen?!"
"Hachiman-kun did it while you were lost in thought," Asuna explained.
"Hachiman? You're... surprisingly good at this."
"I practice on Asuna all the time. I've actually done a fair bit of research on it."
"You're so diligent about the strangest things..."
Now that the serious talk was over, Kurisu actually asked Hachiman to try out a few more styles.
"No way... how are you this fast?"
"Right? It surprised me too," Asuna agreed.
"Alright," Hachiman said, getting into the spirit of it. "Let's give you both the full treatment."
He went to work, styling both their hair into elaborate updos (being careful not to damage it), and took a photo of the two of them standing side-by-side.
"There. Not bad, right?"
"Wow, this is actually really cool."
"I don't even recognize myself," Kurisu admitted.
And so, within the Hikigaya household, a quiet, peaceful night continued on.
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